Graphics Cards Guide

Evolution Of TurboCache

Evolution Of TurboCache

Not more than two months ago, the GeForce 6200 was unveiled as NVIDIA's entry level GPU for the GeForce 6 series. It had four pixel pipelines and three vertex shader units. In order to bring the performance expectation level into perspective, a midrange GeForce 6600 series has eight pixel pipelines and three vertex shaders. Most of the important features such as the CineX 3.0 engine, UltraShadow II and many more from GeForce 6600 and GeForce 6800 series are present, but a few did go under the axe such as color and Z compression. FSAA performance does takes a notable dive, but the GeForce 6200 GPU was designed for the average mainstream users who do not use anti-aliasing, so it's not a big loss. Additionally, NVIDIA High-Precision Dynamic-Range (HPDR) Technology is also omitted and again it is to save on the die size since the entry-level segment won't really be utilizing such features, much less the hardware being able to handle it at capable speeds. Typical memory configuration would be 128MB of local memory on a128-bit memory interface.

With an average SRP of US$140, it was seated somewhat closer to the midrange and wasn't priced low enough to be a true entry-level product. Today, two more variants join the GeForce 6200 lineup and these are the GeForce 6200 with TurboCache with 16MB (32-bit) and 32MB (64-bit) memory at US$99 and US$129 respectively.